For the record, I would probably be willing to do VN reviews if I could get legal, translated versions and didn't have to pay out of my own pocket for them. I have actually done one before for this site, after all, and played (read?) a few others. The problem with doing VN reviews in general, though, is that licensed releases are fairly rare and generally don't involve VNs that people would hyped up to read about. You wouldn't get reviews on any of the hot big-name titles, for instance, because there are no legal sources for them, and ANN doesn't do reviews on non-legal content beyond one-shot Preview Guide entries.

And, as others have pointed out, VNs are immensely more time-consuming compared to watching an anime series or reading a manga or novel omnibus edition. Reviewing a one cour anime series typically takes 5-7 hours of viewing time for subtitled-only series and 6-9 hours for a dubbed series, more if there are extensive Extras. The actual write-up usually takes me 4-6 hours to do, more if there are a lot of historical and/or cultural references that I feel obligated to look up. That means a typical 12-14 episode review typically takes 10-15 hours of total time commitment. VNs can easily require double or triple (or more) of that time commitment, and that's just for playing them out. Can't get much else done in a month, review-wise, with something like that weighting down your schedule!

To sum up, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is still a bad show, no doubt about that. But it's not as goddamn awful as I thought it would be.

Seems like it's going the typical "lol dumb comedy anime" route. If it continues like the first episode, it wouldn't even register close to the list of truly bad anime. That's why every single reaction to a bad anime calling it as such just seems like hyperbole to me. The most sexist anime ever is still Ranma 1/2, and I blame it for all that follows.

On that visual novel discussion: it is the job of any adaptation to not merely be faithful to its source material but also to, well, adapt it in a comprehensible and entertaining way. If an anime falls short at accomplishing that, then it falls short at accomplishing that and no amount of contexualized explanation is going to alter that. A review that simply informs fans whether a checklist is met seems superfluous also.

Maybe there's a case for visual novels being regarded as unique and special and deserving of a very different standard apart from the way most people would judge an adaptation of a book or a comic or a video game, but if so I definitely don't know what it is.

Maybe there's a case for visual novels being regarded as unique and special and deserving of a very different standard apart from the way most people would judge an adaptation of a book or a comic or a video game, but if so I definitely don't know what it is.

Oh there most definitely is. However it's not something that would be apparent after just one episode. VNs typically do not follow the standard linear storytelling. That is to say, that there are multiple 'routes' that may or may not be connected. It's not just one story. It's fractured into many different parts. And for an adaptation of a VN, the transition between these arcs (which in the game all take place on the same timeline) can be incredibly difficult. Take Tsukihime: Lunar Legend for instance, where JC Staff only had a very short time to deal with an incredibly lengthy visual novel. So what they did was take elements from several different routes and smash them all together. What they didn't realize is that by taking all these separate elements and trying to string them together they lost any and all continuity that the creator had set up. Characters were a mess and the overall story even went to all hell.

It is not at all an easy thing to adapt a visual novel, particularly ones with interconnected routes and an overarching story as common in Type-Moon and Key visual novels. Of course, sometimes there are VNs that only have one route (like Utawarerumono) and those are much easier to adapt as they are more akin to a standard novel/manga/comic/video game.

That moesucks review is hilarious, but is Sakurasou no Pet THAT damn bad? Like...I have trouble believing that a show that patently offensive could exist. I have trouble believing that Mashiro is THAT infantile.

I mean, jesus, that blog wasn't kidding, I'm amazed she doesn't actually wear diapers, though if she did I'd probably suffer through just one episode solely because of that >_>

Dammit, author! You missed a chance to make me watch your god-awful show! Wait, maybe that's a good thing...

I haven't played KS, nor do I really hae any strong opinions on it one way or the other, but given a lot of people who consume "real" VNs (I'm just going to ignore that No True Scotsman wording), like the denizens of /a/, like it a lot, I'd wager that the novel's pretty good.

That moesucks review is hilarious, but is Sakurasou no Pet THAT damn bad? Like...I have trouble believing that a show that patently offensive could exist. I have trouble believing that Mashiro is THAT infantile.

I mean, jesus, that blog wasn't kidding, I'm amazed she doesn't actually wear diapers, though if she did I'd probably suffer through just one episode solely because of that >_>

Dammit, author! You missed a chance to make me watch your god-awful show! Wait, maybe that's a good thing...

Its not that bad. Its not good by any means, but that review was exaggerating for comic effect.

Whatever it's quality, it made Bamboo lacerate into it in a way I've never seen her do before. She's never been this offended at a show before. Not even the schlockiest of fanservice garnered this much anger from her.

I think we've found the divisive show of the season. And for once, it wasn't the incest show!

For the record, I would probably be willing to do VN reviews if I could get legal, translated versions and didn't have to pay out of my own pocket for them. I have actually done one before for this site, after all, and played (read?) a few others. The problem with doing VN reviews in general, though, is that licensed releases are fairly rare and generally don't involve VNs that people would hyped up to read about. You wouldn't get reviews on any of the hot big-name titles, for instance, because there are no legal sources for them, and ANN doesn't do reviews on non-legal content beyond one-shot Preview Guide entries.

And, as others have pointed out, VNs are immensely more time-consuming compared to watching an anime series or reading a manga or novel omnibus edition. Reviewing a one cour anime series typically takes 5-7 hours of viewing time for subtitled-only series and 6-9 hours for a dubbed series, more if there are extensive Extras. The actual write-up usually takes me 4-6 hours to do, more if there are a lot of historical and/or cultural references that I feel obligated to look up. That means a typical 12-14 episode review typically takes 10-15 hours of total time commitment. VNs can easily require double or triple (or more) of that time commitment, and that's just for playing them out. Can't get much else done in a month, review-wise, with something like that weighting down your schedule!

I know that feeling since you are all bound by contracts to review legit/translated games. I've personally reviewed umineko arcs 1-4, since they have R7's permission to do a translation. clannad and kanon which are not supported. Unlike anime as you stated VN's take a huge amount of time to get through clannad alone is 300hrs through every route to get the best ending in after story. Most people do have lives, schedule time to do things and you guys don't really have that amount of time to do so.

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